Electrical apparatus and methods



May 2, 1951 E. E. LlTTLr-:Fl-ELD' 2,982,256

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS AND METHODS Original Filed March 1'7, 1945 III.'IIIA INVENTOR Ep 6A e 5 /Tv-EF/ELD ,97" Tae /VE/ vBr-ieilyzconsideredthe linvention relates to an improved system of control and tocertaingixnprovements in the elements'making up the system. L e. f: YOneofthe objects istoprovide an improved flushing system,."while an`additional object is` the, provision of an improved valvefor use in thesame or for 'such other uses as may be found for it. l t y '.:r Besidesreducing the Aheating effect to a minimum, the valvein .questionpossesses numerous advantages, inc1ud` ing'la `simplified constructionthat in operation is quick acting andI do'es notpermit'leakage whenclosed. More- United States Patent ice 7 trolled vby means of a relaycode or` equivalent type, which, in turn, is controlled by over,the-valve seats without an;objectionablefhammer blow,.and doesnot stickunder ordinary use.` t

Z ,Certainmodications will' appear, in the drawings.:

Numerous objects and advantages of the improvements will become obviousupon consideration of thewfollowinggdescription and the accompanyingdrawings. e

Y"Fig `1 shows an improved electrical control `System, withione form ofimproved valve incorporated therein, the latter-being shown partly incross-sectional elevation. LIIn Fig. 2 is` shown a modified form ofvalve element. andA piston which may be employed in the valvecombination. f z Y. f

In Fig. 3 is showula section a of urinal, partly cut away,of a type-morecompletely described in certain prior patents issued to me,includingU.S. Patent No. 1,709,083, in which type the waste depositedforms an electrical conductor in the path-,of4 a` controlling circuit..I'n Fig.l 4 is shown, partly Vincross-sectionalelevation, the `upper`part of a modified valve construction. Figure S is an enlarged verticalsectional view, 'th parts broken away, `of a detail of certainfeaturesshown in theupper portion of Figure 4, and Figure 6 isasimilashowing similarly 'related to Figure 1. z t v j v "In' the;various views like numerals referto like parts.

arrow, Fig. l, indicates direction of fluid flow. -f Referring tov Fig.il, ifa "step-down' transformerjl, hav- Patented May 2,1961

1s, preferably of .the 'relethe electrodes 2 1 and 22 togetherW-ith theiluid which at times is interposed therebetween. In case it is desiredto cut out relay 18, switch element'19, which is normally open` when therelay is used, may-be closed. vInstead of the means indicated, or asadditional means therefor, the valve operating circuit may bevcontrolled by means of a push button 20, through branch circuit 16.Circuit interruptors23 and 24, normally closed, provide means foropening their `respective circuits when desirable or necessary. Underthe arrangement shown, i.e., with switch 6 open, and 7 and 8 closed, thecoil 9 is heated by primary circuit'4. However, with switch 25 closed,as well as interrupter 6, and 7 or 8, or both, opened, as well as 23,the coil 9V may be heated by circuit 15. VIriithis way. heat may beapplied to the coi1-9 from therlow tension side of the transformer, thevoltage of which, at leastfcr certain purposes,-is.preferably 18 `to 24volts, or less; A tran'sformersupplying from 50 to 150 Watts has beenfound suitable for quite a number of purposes. The operation oftheflushing system, fas such, will beappreciated by reference to the aboveindicated patents. The Telecode relay referred to is the trade name of arelay manufactured by the Benjamin Electric Mfg. Co., of Des Plaines,Ill., and is madein accordance Iwith the disclosure of U.S. Patent1,272,432

of July 16, 1918. Y

Included in circuit 14 is a valve 26 which is also shown and describedin my Patent, 1,862,937 and which has been found satisfactory whenincorporated in the vabove combination. The housing 27 is provided witha seatv 28 and a bonnet 29, with a cylindrical extension 30,V

and an extension at the top in the form of a tubular member 31, closedat the top, said parts being formed of 4brass or other non-magnetizablematerials.

Arranged .to co-operate Vwith seat 28 is a .piston valve 32 having Aatubular extension 33, formed integral withv the former, or'as a separateelement, and threaded therein, `if desired, the tubular extension 33having a seat 34 at .its upper end, said parts being formed of'non-magnetizable material of any suitable type.V The tubular extensionand piston provide a by-pass 35 within whicha ing primary and secondarywindings Zaand 3,' respectivelyiis" connected withaisuitable 'source'ofcurrent; s uch as an ordinary alternating current service main, bymeans of'circuit 4, having Aswitch` elements 5 and 6 thereinyandadditional switch elements 7fand'8, which` are normally closed, so'that'when element 6 is open and 5 closed, thev load current flowingin-circuit 4 supplies'heatfor the coil 9fen'c'ircling the movablecontact arm 10 of a temperatu're responsive device 11, causing theformer tov niove'into contact with terminal .12, thus closing branchcircuit 13? on the .secondary `side of the` transformer.

Byclosing Vthe switch 6 and opening 7 and 8 the temperature responsivedevice may be made to respond` valve stem 36 reciprocates and which isresiliently mounted at the lower end by means of a coiled spring 37 andloch nuts 38. At the upper end ofthe valve stem a valve member 39preferably formed of stainless iron'is secured, by a threaded connectionor otherwise, as desired, and arranged to co-operate with the seat 34.Resting onthe upper end of the tubular extensionV 33 is a lever ldevice40 formed of magnetizable material, pref-V erably stainless iron, andhaving an adjustable head 41 threaded thereon. Obviously, the threadedarrangementY permits certain adjustments -to be made when desirable ornecessary. Head 41 is preferably formed of'nonmagnetic material.

The valve stem 36 `and valve 39 obviously may be:

formed of one -piece of stainless ironor itsequivalent and assembled asa unit in the valve combination, thusv simplifying manufacturingprocedure. Asv indicated above, valve 39, as well as its stem, ifdesired, and lever arm 40 are preferably made of stainless -iron or itsequivalent.

A coil 42, having a core member 43, is adjustablyf mounted, as with ysetscrew 31', on the tubular extension` 31, in posit-ion, when energized,to attract lever 40, when the piston valve isin seated position. Forillustra-tive purposes, Vthe piston valve is shown in elevated position.The kcoil may be adjusted to any` desiredposition` on the extension 31.Obviously-,thefarrangementgf should be such that during the operation ofthe valve the lever arm 40 slides along the wall of thetubular'extension 31 adjacent core 43.

If we assume that the main valve is closed or in seated position andthat energy is applied to the coil 42, the same having previously beenadjusted'to the most ef-` cient position on the stem 31, the arm 40 willbe` at,-t tractedfto the core 43, thus unseating the by-pass valve 39and opening by-pass 35, permitting release of pressure from chamber 44,causing the piston valve to be unseated.

By modifying the construction of the piston valve 32 somewhat, as inFig. 2, the part forming the valve head 45 may be adjustably threaded onto the stem part 46, thus permitting regulation of the fluid ow.Obviously, the extension has an additional use as an aspirator, to aidin reducing the pressure in chamber 44.

A sectionof an earthenware urinal bowl, shown in Fig. 3, is providedwith ka pair of electrodes 21 and 22, having corrosion resistingheads48, with threaded extensions 49, on which are threaded female nuts v50.To the lower ends of these are threaded a couple of terminal nuts 51.Obviously, when liquid excreta is interposed between electrodes 21 and22, included in circuit 14, as explained in the patents referred to,circuit 14 is closed, resulting in a flushing operation. A couple ofrubber gaskets 52 prevent leakage of fluid through-the holes in theearthenware bowl, while short-circuiting of the electrodes outside thebowl is prevented by means of the annular extension 53 of the bowl.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a sectional view of a valve, shown partly cutaway, similar to the type shown in Fig. lof my Patent 1,862,937, thedetail being of the structure cooperating with the upper end of a fluidoperated piston valve 55. The tubular member 54 may be threaded into thepiston part 55, or made integral therewith, as desired. Within thetubular extension 54 is a tubular extension 56, of the piston valve 55,which extension may be formed integral therewith, or as a separate piecethreaded into the piston valve. The piston itself and main valve, ofcourse, supply the remainder of the by-pass.

At the upper end of the member 56 is a seat 57 for a pilot valve 58arranged to co-operate with a magnetizable plug or core member 59,preferably made of stainless iron or equivalent, which rests on theupper end of the member 54, the latter, as well as member 56, beingformed of non-magnetizable material. obviously, is preferably formedofstainless iron or equivalent. The valve is shown in elevated or openposition.

A coil 60 is adjustably mounted on the extension 61 of` the bonnet 62.An opening 63 in the side Wall of member 54 providesy for communicationwith the by-pass through the piston. When the main valve is closed thepilot valve 58 rests on its seat 57, while the core member 59 rests onthe upper end of the tubular member 54, mow'ng freely therewith. It willbe understoodV that the bonnet 62, together with extension 61, areformed of brass or other non-magnetizable material. The valve 17, Fig.l, of U.S. Patent 1,862,937 is similar to and functions substantiallylike valve 58 above. Attention is directed to it for generalinformation.

In the seated position of the main valve the magnetizable parts 58 and59 will occupy positions within the coil 60 in such a way that a maximummagnetizing effect may be applied thereto. However, upon operation oftheV valve, these magnetizable parts move to a position designed todevelop such reactance in the coil that overheating is prevented. Muchless electrical energy is required to hold the valve open than isrequired to open it. This type of valve may, if desired, under certainconditions, be substituted for the one previously described. I havefound rit desirable, in certain instances, to employ an auxiliary orpilot valve the weight of which is less than th'atofthe` valve itcontrols. It is also desirable under certainconditions to have theauxiliary or pilot valve displace less fluid than-the controlled valve.

Pilot valve S8,-

The present application was filed April 13, 1954, asl a continuation ofthe then pending parent application Serial No. 344,933 (laterabandoned), which latter application was filed March 27, 1953, as acontinuation of application Serial No. 583,327, led March 17, 1945(later abandoned); the last mentioned application was, in turn, acontinuation-impart of application Serial No. 333,696, filed May 6,1940, which issuedas Patent No. 2,373,697 on April 17, 1945. Serial No.333,696, was a substitute of Serial No. 616,955, filed June 13, 1932(later abandoned), and the last mentioned application was acontinuation-in-part of Serial No. 54,080, tiled September A2, 1925,which application eventuated in Patent No. 1,862,- 937, dated June 14,1932.

The present application also contains matter in common with my copendingapplication Serial No. 380,707, filed September 17, 1953.

Referring again to the combination of Fig. l, it is obvious that, whileI have illustrated and described certain means for unseating theauxiliary valve 39, other means may also be employed. A hook and eyecon-l ne'ction, vfor instance, orl the equivalent thereof, between thearm 40 and valve 39 may be used, if desired. A partial sectional view ofan assembly of this s ort is shown in Fig. 6.

For the sakel of brevity' I have illustrated only a few simpleembodiments Vof my invention and the several features thereof,and havedescribed them with particularity; but it will of course be understoodthat my invention is not limited to the forms thus illustrated, as Iintend to cover all forms, methods, and arrangements thatA come withinthedefinitions of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

IY claim: x

1. The method of controlling a translatlng device which includesexposing a movable magnetic element to substantially the densest part ofa magnetic eld to move the said element and thereby to eiect primarycontrol of said device and thereafter reducing the strength of saidfield effective upon said element by increasing the alr gap throughwhich the eld operates while maintaining said element in primary controlof said device.

l2. The method of controlling a translating devlcev which includesexposing a movable magnetic element to substantially the densest part ofa magnetic eld to move the said element and thereby to effect primarycontrol of said device and thereafter moving said element to asubstantially less dense portion of said eld beyond the densest part ofsaid field.

3. The method of controlling a translating device which includesexposinga movable magnetic element `tosubstantially the densest part ofa magnetic field to move the' said element and moving said element to asubstantially less denseportion of said eld beyond said densest part of-said field before utilizing said element for further control of saiddevice. Y

4. The method of controlling a translating device having a movablemagnetic element disposed to respond to` the densest partofthe magneticfield provided by a companion member which includes exposing saidelement to the influence of said field to move said element to apredetermined position and thereafter reducing the strength of the eldelfective on said element by increasingand thereafter causingsaidelement to move to a sub-` stantially less dense portion of saidfield beyond said predetermined position.

6. The method of controlling an electro-mechanical deviceiwhich includesexposing a movable magnetic elefield of a companion member energized byalternating current which includes exposing said element to said iieldto move the element to a predetermined position4 in said ield andthereafter reducing the strength of the field eiective on said elementby moving the Velement to avpredetermined position beyond its lastprevious position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS MeredithJune 20, 1916 Klein Aug. 12, 1924 Carter July 12, 1927 Bright Sept. 4,1928 Whitehead Aug. 25, 1931 Littlefield June'l4, 1932 Martin-Hurst Dec.26, 1944 Littleeld Apr. 17, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain 1902Switzerland Nov. 2, 1925

